Toy vehicle playset kit and collision game

ABSTRACT

A toy vehicle play set includes a mechanical accelerator for toy vehicles and a game board defining point value zones within a field of play. A collision game may be played with the parts of the kit and with the players contributing their own toy vehicles, in which a first player positions “defensive” vehicles and a second player dynamically introduces a series of “offensive” vehicles into the field of play. Scoring is determined by the at rest positions of the “offensive” vehicles in defined point value zones.

This non-provisional utility application claims the benefit of andpriority to U.S. provisional application 63/036,404 “Toy Vehicle PlaysetKit and Collision Game,” filed 8 Jun. 2020. The entire contents of U.S.provisional application 63/036,404 “Toy Vehicle Playset Kit andCollision Game” filed 8 Jun. 2020 are incorporated into this document byreference.

COPYRIGHT STATEMENT

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains materialthat is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has noobjection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent documentor the patent disclosure as it appears in the Patent and TrademarkOffice patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyrightrights whatsoever.

FIELD

The invention relates to a method of play for a vehicle collision game,using a mechanical accelerator such as a foldable ramp track for toycars used in the collision game played within a playing field defined bya game board.

BACKGROUND

Toy vehicle play sets have enjoyed great popularity through the yearsand have provided a variety of toy vehicles both powered and unpoweredtogether with cooperating accessories. In some toy vehicle play sets, anunpowered vehicle is launched or directed within a confining track. Inothers, collision or crash simulation is provided by means of impactresponsive designed to come apart upon collision. Impact responsive andpowered vehicles are outside the scope of the invention.

When using an inclined ramp to introduce a toy vehicle into a field ofplay, two problems occur: first, if a ramp is insufficiently rigid, aheavy vehicle may create a moving belly within the ramp which displacesits entry point into the field of play from an initially desiredposition. Second, when a series of games is played among severallocations, the problem arises of how to assure that consistent angle ofincline is set up form one location to the next, so that the playexperience is uniform among these various locations.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

A primary objective of the invention is to provide a portable ramp fortoy vehicles.

Another objective of the invention is that the ramp be substantiallyrigid so as to avoid a situation in which a heavy vehicle traveling downthe ramp might create a moving belly or sagging area of the ramp, whichwould displace its entry point into a field of play from an initiallydesired position. A corollary objective of the invention is to providemeans to assure that the ramp may be set up to substantially the sameincline from one play session to the next.

Yet another objective of the invention is that the ramp and playsetaccessories are made easily portable, and a corollary objective of theinvention is to provide a foldable or collapsible segmented ramp whichis amenable to convenient storage and transport.

Another objective of the invention is to provide a game board defining afield of play for toy vehicles to enter and pass through, collide withand displace other vehicles already in the field of play, or come torest within the field of play.

Another objective of the invention is to define and provide a game playmethod using the ramp and game board which comprises turn-based play inwhich players position some vehicles within the field of play andintroduce other vehicles into the field from the ramp to traverse thefield and possibly collide.

Yet another objective of the invention is to provide a game which may beplayed without the use of batteries or electric power.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A further understanding of the nature and advantages of particularembodiments may be realized by reference to the remaining portions ofthe specification and the drawings, in which like reference numerals areused to refer to similar components. When reference is made to areference numeral without specification to an existing sub-label, it isintended to refer to all such multiple similar components.

FIG. 1a shows a foldable ramp in accordance with the invention in itsfolded state, including a section line X-X for embodiments shown inFIGS. 1b and 1 c.

FIG. 1b shows a cross section of an embodiment of any of the segments ofthe foldable ramp assembly of FIG. 1 a.

FIG. 1c shows a cross section of an alternative embodiment of a rampsegment any of the segments of the foldable ramp assembly of FIG. 1 a.

FIG. 2 shows first and second steps for unfolding the foldable ramp ofFIG. 1 a.

FIG. 3 shows third and fourth steps for unfolding the foldable ramp ofFIG. 1 a.

FIG. 4 shows an optional fifth step for setting or checking an inclineangle for an embodiment of a foldable ramp which further comprises aheight regulating strut.

FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of a game board in accordance with theinvention.

FIG. 6a shows an initial positioning of toy vehicles during a course ofplay using a game board in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 6b shows a possible outcome of toy vehicle positions after a courseof play using a game board in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 6c shows another possible outcome of toy vehicle positions after acourse of play using a game board in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 7a shows an alternative embodiment of a collapsible ramp within thescope of the invention with its nested segments compactly collapsed.

FIG. 7b shows the collapsible ramp of FIG. 7a with its nested segmentsextended and with a toy car descending the ramp. A detailed enlargementexamines the transit of a toy car wheel from the end of one ramp segmentto the next.

FIG. 8 shows two nestable boxes which are optional additional items fora kit of components in a play set in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 9a shows an alternate means of assembling segments of ramp togetherrigidly.

FIG. 9b shows an embodiment of a connecting rod for a ramp assembly inaccordance with the invention.

FIG. 9c shows an alternate embodiment of a connecting rod for a rampassembly in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 10a shows a stylistic embodiment of a car slingshot for game playin accordance with the invention.

FIG. 10b shows a stylistic embodiment of a motorized car accelerator forgame play in accordance with the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION of CERTAIN EMBODIMENTS

While various aspects and features of certain embodiments have beensummarized above, the following detailed description illustrates a fewexemplary embodiments in further detail to enable one skilled in the artto practice such embodiments. The described examples are provided forillustrative purposes and are not intended to limit the scope of theinvention.

In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, numerousspecific details are set forth in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of the described embodiments. It will be apparent to oneskilled in the art, however, that other embodiments of the presentinvention may be practiced without some of these specific details.Several embodiments are described herein, and while various features areascribed to different embodiments, it should be appreciated that thefeatures described with respect to one embodiment may be incorporatedwith other embodiments as well. By the same token, however, no singlefeature or features of any described embodiment should be consideredessential to every embodiment of the invention, as other embodiments ofthe invention may omit such features.

In this application the use of the singular includes the plural unlessspecifically stated otherwise, and use of the terms “and” and “or” isequivalent to “and/or,” also referred to as “non-exclusive or” unlessotherwise indicated. Moreover, the use of the term “including,” as wellas other forms, such as “includes” and “included,” should be considerednon-exclusive. Also, terms such as “element” or “component” encompassboth elements and components comprising one unit and elements andcomponents that comprise more than one unit, unless specifically statedotherwise.

The invention relates to a toy vehicle play set which includes amechanical accelerator for the toy vehicles such as a collapsible,portable ramp, and a game board defining point value zones within afield of play. A collision game may be played with the parts of the kitand with the players contributing their own toy vehicles, in which afirst player positions “defensive” vehicles and a second playerdynamically introduces a series of “offensive” vehicles into the fieldof play. Scoring is determined by the at rest positions of the“offensive” vehicles in the point value zones.

FIG. 1a shows a foldable ramp in accordance with the invention in itsfolded state, including a section line X-X for embodiments shown inFIGS. 1b and 1 c. This particular ramp is a foldable assembly [10] offive rigid segments connected by hinges. The first segment [5 a] isconnected to a second of two ramp segments of similar length [5] whichare at least slightly longer then the first segment. The third segment[7] is preferably close to and at least as long as twice the thicknessof the ramp segments. The fourth segment is similar to the secondsegment, and the fifth segment [4] which is also a final segment,includes a beveled surface [6] adjoining its underside surface so thatwhen the assembled is propped up at an incline this underside surfacemay rest flush upon a horizontal surface such as a floor or a gameboard. Hinges [2] which connect the first and second segment and thefourth and fifth segment are designed to fold the ramps segments over atleast 180° and the hinges [2 a] which connect to both ends of the thirdsegment are designed to fold the adjacent ramp segments only by at least90° so that the four long ramp segments may be arranged into arectangular volume, with the shortest, third segment adjacent to thisrectangular volume. The hinges may include pins which interlink adjacentramp segments, or preferably strips of fabric or flexible materialaffixed to the underside surfaces of the ramp segments. According to apreferred embodiment, lengths of the longer segments are about 22 and ⅜″long, the first and fifth segments are about 22 and ⅛″ long, and theshortest, third segment is about 2″ long.

FIG. 1b shows a cross section of an embodiment of any of the segments ofthe foldable ramp assembly of FIG. 1 a. In this embodiment the rampsegments are solid beams having a track floor [3] parallel to anunderside surface and the trach floor is bounded by width by sidewalls[3 a.] FIG. 1c shows a cross section of an alternative embodiment of anyof the segments of the foldable ramp assembly of FIG. 1 a, wherein atleast one of the ramp segments is a hollow beam such as can be made byextrusion. This design of beam is lighter and uses less material and maybe used for storage of play vehicles or other game accessories.According to a preferred embodiment, the width of the ramp at itsunderside may be between about 1 and ⅜″ to 2″ wide, the ramp floor widthmay be between about 1 and ⅛″ to 1 and 9/32″ wide, and the sidewallheights may be about 11/32″ in height. According to another embodiment,the short section [7] is made hollow along its length so as to act as asize-qualifying tunnel. Toy vehicles which are too large to pass throughthe hollow ramp channel may be disqualified from game play.

Many toy vehicles made to the 1:1/87 scale often called “HO scale” mayfit within the track sidewalls and may be used with the inventive rampand the inventive collision toy vehicle game. Another common toy vehiclescale for which the game playset components may be designed, sized, andproduced is 1:64 scale, which is roughly the size of many popular metaldie cast cars and vehicles, including the Matchbox® and Hotwheels®brands currently owned by the Mattel corporation, and their manyimitators and competitors.

FIG. 2 shows first and second steps for unfolding the foldable rampassembly of FIG. 1 a, wherein the segments [5] adjacent to the thirdsegment [7] are swung out so that they abut the ends of third segment sothat their ramp floor surfaces become coplanar and the ramp sidewallsurfaces also become coplanar. The first [5 a] and fifth [4] segmentshave not yet been swung out. Portions of the ramp segments are shown intheir collapsed positions in phantom lines.

FIG. 3 shows third and fourth steps for unfolding the foldable ramp ofFIG. 1 a, wherein the first [5 a] and fifth [4] segments are swung outso that they abut the ends of second and fourth [5] segmentsrespectively. At this point all ramp floor surfaces including the shortthird segment [7] are coplanar and all ramp sidewall surfaces alsobecome coplanar. Portions of the ramp segments are shown in theircollapsed positions in phantom lines. At this point the ramp assemblymay be inclined by supporting the first segment, and the ramp may beused for any sort of play involving positioning and releasing toyvehicles to roll down the ramp.

FIG. 4 shows an optional fifth step for setting or checking an inclineangle for an embodiment of a foldable ramp assembly [10] which furthercomprises a height regulating strut [9.] A preferable embodiment forsuch a strut comprises two or more nested, telescoping sections [9 a, 9b] which may be swing out along an arc [S] and extended to a height. Thestrut affords the ability for players to set up the ramp at any playarea and be assured that if required as for regulation game play, theincline angle of the ramp may be consistent and standardized. The strutsets the height [h] so that the beveled underside surface of the finalsegment of the ramp lays properly upon a horizontal surface such as afloor or a game board [12.]

The foldable ramp described herein offers advantages over existingmodular track playsets for toy vehicles of the size range described,because most of the other track systems are so flexible that unlesspropped up at many support points along a ramp, the track will often sagas a toy vehicle descends, creating a moving belly in the track thatreduces the speed of the vehicle, which also reduces the entertainmentvalue of the playset. Rigid ramps allow toys to accelerate more andfaster toys in play are preferred by players.

A saggy ramp supported along a series of rigid points along its lengthmay also cause descending toy vehicles to bounce deleteriously as theytraverse the rigid points. Overcoming the moving sagging belly of a rampwhich is too flexible turns what might otherwise be a rapid andconvenient set-up for vehicle collision play into a scale model civilengineering project entailing controlling material deflection betweenramp supports and establishing a constant grade of descent along thelength of the ramp. These technical challenges may overwhelm players,increase set-up time to the detriment of available play time, andconsume and diminish players' enthusiasm for the game.

Lastly, if a certain brand of modular flexible track is desired for useas a ramp, the inventive ramp may be used as an rigid underlaymentproviding continuous support for a flexible track lain along its entirelength, thus eliminating unwanted sagging and bouncing of descendingvehicles. For of game play using track as a ramp, the track ispreferably semi-rigid or rigid.

A ramp used as a mechanical accelerator for toy vehicles has an outletwhich is the base or end of the ramp where the toy vehicle may emergeinto the playing area. Other toy vehicle accelerators may include atleast a staging area for a vehicle to be positioned and an outlet forthe toy vehicle to emerge into the playing area.

FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of a rectangular game board in accordancewith the invention defining a field of play and having a first shorteredge which is a near edge [22] opposite a second shorter edge which is afar edge [23,] and two longer edges [21.] The length [L] may be about45″ and the width [W] may be about 28″. The board is preferably markedwith indicia for locating an outlet of the mechanical accelerator at anentrance location along the first edge, such as a outlet locator box[26] at a midpoint [W/2] along its one of its shorter edges, whichdefines a limited zone inside of which the outlet of the mechanicalaccelerator may reside. Some mechanical accelerators produce reactionforces while accelerating the toy vehicle, and so a game board mayoptionally include mechanical attachment sites within the outlet locatorbox which interoperate with attachments on the accelerator device. Anoptional example of such would be to provide hook and loop Velcro® inwhich one fabric is basted within the outlet locator box and thecomplementary fabric is affixed to the underside of an end of a ramp.Magnetic fixtures may also be employed. The board also includes twoscoring lines which are a 1-point line P₁ located about 10″ to 12″ fromthe board edge where the ramp [10] is located, and a 2-point line P₂about 12″ beyond the 1-point line. Besides a rectangular box, theindicia for demarcating the accelerator outlet location may be anothershape such as a semicircle.

An embodiment of a game board for play in accordance with the inventionmay be described as having a first edge, a first line P₁ marked on theboard parallel to the first line and spaced a first distance apart fromthe first edge, and a second line P₂ marked on the board spaced a seconddistance apart from the first edge with the second distance greater thanthe first distance, and with indicia for locating an outlet of amechanical accelerator at an entrance location along the first edge.

The preferable materials for the game board offer some rolling orsliding resistance so that cars introduced into the competition areadefined by the perimeter of the game board will typically come to restwithin the competition area. Examples of preferred play materialsinclude but are not limited to gaming table felts used for billiard orpool tables or casino gaming tables, short-pile carpeting, or rough butfine-grained particle board.

“Felt” as in this specification encompasses the materials defined by thetypical use of the word “felt” but also any other material exhibitingequivalent or comparable material properties of surface roughness,flexibility, tensile strength, texture, and durometer.

FIG. 6a shows an initial positioning of toy vehicles during a course ofplay using a game board in accordance with the invention for a collisiongame also in accordance with the invention, which proceeds as follows:Players assemble the inventive ramp and position it along the board edgeas shown. Players contribute pluralities of toy vehicles, hereafterreferred to as “cars” which are sized to fit and roll down the ramp intoa pool, and take turns as an “offensive” and a “defensive” player, whoalternatingly select cars from the pool. The defensive player placescars [41, 42, 43] between the 1-point line and the end of the ramp. Theoffensive player rolls three cars down the ramp and into the field ofplay. The game may be played entirely without the use of disposableitems such as batteries, and does not require electric power at all. Thegame does not generate waste materials. In this figure the firstoffensive car [31] is shown in motion, nearing the end of the ramp andabout to enter the field of play.

FIG. 6b shows a possible outcome of toy vehicle positions after a courseof play using a game board in accordance with the invention. The threedefensive cars [41, 42, 43] have been displaced by having been hit bythree offensive cars [31, 32, 33.] Cars may come to rest piled up atopeach other or flipped onto their sides. After all the cars have stopped,the score given to the offensive player is one point for every offensivecar which touches or traverses the 1-point line P₁, and two points forevery offensive car which touches or traverses the 2-point line P₂.Also, any part of a car which touches a scoring line earns the scoreassociated with that line. In this outcome shown, the offensive playerachieves zero points.

FIG. 6c shows another possible outcome of toy car positions after acourse of play using a game board in accordance with the invention.Successive impacts from offensive cars have displaced defensive cars[41, 42, 43.] With the cars having come to rest, offensive cars [31] and[32] have passed the 1-point line but not the 2-point line, and car [33]has passed the 2-point line. This outcome earns the offensive playerfour points.

For this specification a course of play in which players alternate inselecting cars from the pool of cars, then place defensive cars on thefield, then roll offensive cars down the ramp to collide with, displace,and roll past the defensive cars, and then award points based on wherethe cars come to rest, may be called a “collision match.” The playersalternate offensive and defensive roles in collision matches andalternate as to who goes first in selecting cars from the pool. Asuccession of collision matches may continue and points accumulateduntil a point goal is reached. While selecting cars for offense ordefense, players may be entertained by comparing mass, shapes, andcontour of the vehicles available for selection and by trying to imagineand predict which sorts of shapes would be successful at climbing overblocking cars, resistance to tumbling, or effective for withstandingimpacts without displacement.

FIG. 7a shows an alternative embodiment of a collapsible ramp within thescope of the invention with its nested segments [46, 47, 48, 49]compactly collapsed. FIG. 7b shows the collapsible ramp of FIG. 7a withits nested segments [46, 47, 48, 49] extended and with a toy cardescending the ramp. A detailed enlargement examines the transit of atoy car wheel from the end of one ramp segment to the next. Althoughembodiments of telescoping, nested ramp segments reside within the scopeof the invention, they may be less preferred than the folding, hingedsegment style of FIGS. 1a -4, because as seen in the enlargement of thisfigure, the transition point from one segment to the next includes astep-up or step-down of one material thickness. The toy car would hopunwantedly at this transition similar to a real driver hopping ordriving off a curb. The car would likely also make a distracting clicknoise skipping across these transitions. Hollow beams would amplify thisunwanted sound. For these reasons the folding, hinged segment style ispreferred.

Besides a size-qualifying tunnel described previously, FIG. 8 shows twonestable boxes which may be optional additional items for a kit ofcomponents in a play set in accordance with the invention. The smallerbox [51] fits within the larger [52] of two boxes for compact storage. Acar may be qualified or disqualified from play by using the two boxes as“go, no-go” gauges. An acceptable vehicle must not fit entirely withinthe smaller box and must fit entirely within the larger box. The boxesare “five-sided” boxes which are defined in this specification ascomprising a hollow rectangular box with any one of its six facesremoved to expose its internal cavity. Plane surfaces of other objectsmay be abutted to the open face of a five-sided box to assess whether atoy car within the box has or lacks any portion projecting beyond theconfines of the box.

Other variations within the scope of the invention include a frictionelement affixed to the underside of the beveled portion of the lastsegment of the ramp, which may be a grip-enhancing material such ascertain TPR and EPDM rubber materials, or a hook-type fastener fabricsuch as Velcro® which engages with the fabric material of the playingboard, such as if the board material were made of felt or cancellousfiber material.

Besides connecting segments of ramp together using hinges or strips offlexible fabric, FIG. 9a shows an alternate means of assembling segmentsof ramp together rigidly. Track segments such as [5] and [5 a] ifextruded may include through holes running their entire length, or blindholes [62,] and connecting rods [61] are inserted into the holes.According to some embodiments all fits are light friction fits such as asliding fit. In other schemata, connecting rod lengths and some of theholes into which they insert are force fits or press fits which mayresult in permanent insertions. The complementary holes into which theexposed rod ends insert are lighter friction fits or sliding fits. Holedepths and rod projection dimensions may be selected so as to polarizethe available assembly combinations to enforce one or a few possibleassembly configurations. Figuring out which track segments may insertwith which other track segments may be offered as an entertaining puzzlegame mode of play with the ramp segments. In this specification the word“hole” may be used interchangeably with the word “aperture” in theclaims.

FIG. 9b shows an embodiment of a connecting rod for a ramp assembly inaccordance with the invention. For extruded track segments havingthrough holes running along their entire length, it would be undesirableto allow a connecting rod [61] to become fully inserted into a hole.Therefore the holes in the track segments may include counterbores or anundercut which accepts a midplane annulus [63] larger than the diameterof the through holes. Alternatively, the annulus may be located offsetfrom the midpoint length of the connecting rod so as to function as aninsertion depth stop for a long end and a short end of the connectingrod. If the task of assembling the ramp segments is presented as apuzzle to be solved, the ambiguity of which end of the connecting rodinserts into which hole of which ramp may add to the complexity of thepuzzle. Variations among hole diameters and connecting rod diameters mayalso complicate the assembly task by being selected so as to prevent allbut one or a few possible combinations of rod orientations within theholes of the ramp segments. Furthermore, although the holes andconnecting rods are shown with circular cross sections, elliptical crosssections and polygonal cross sections also reside within the scope ofthe invention and may be deployed in the context of an assembly puzzle.

FIG. 9c shows an alternate embodiment of a connecting rod [61] for aramp assembly in accordance with the invention. If material ormanufacturing costs make the design of FIG. 9b unfavorable, the samedepth stop effect may be wrought by including a groove [64] in the rodand installing a snap ring [65] into the groove.

Although the ramp is a simple car-accelerating device, othercar-accelerating devices may be secured and included within the playsetto be positioned to introduce cars from a point within the locator box.Car-accelerating devices for playing this collision game include but arenot limited to a compressed air catapult, cocked-spring catapult, a carslingshot, and a motorized car accelerator.

FIG. 10a shows a stylistic embodiment of a car slingshot for game playin accordance with the invention. The slingshot accelerator has astaging area where a car is placed, elastic members drawn and held intension, and an outlet [68] which in this embodiment is decorated withdirectional indicia. For game play in accordance with the invention, theslingshot accelerator is placed so that its outlet resides within anoutlet indicator zone marked on the game board.

FIG. 10b shows a stylistic embodiment of a motorized car accelerator forgame play in accordance with the invention. This mechanical acceleratorincludes two counter-rotating cylinders [71 a, 71 b] with soft rubbersleeves [72,] spaced apart to leave a gap between them. Motive power issupplied by one or more electric motors powered by a battery or housecurrent. The cylinders may be connected for coupled rotation by a geartrain or a figure-8-belt or other power train mechanisms. A toy vehiclefed into the gap gets grabbed by the soft sleeves and entrained orimpelled into motion where it is expelled at speed out of an outlet [68]and into play.

In other embodiments of a vehicle playset, toy vehicles may be furnishedas items within the with the playset kit, and these may be decoratedwith logos, advertising indicia, personages, and popular media imagesavailable for licensing from the various rights holders, includingsports team logos and images of famous players and auto manufacturersgraphics. Popular fictional indicia may also be applied to the toyvehicles.

A step-wise explanation of a preferred mode of play for a toy vehiclecollision game within the scope of the invention proceeds as follows:

-   a. providing a plurality of at least six toy vehicles,-   b. providing a mechanical accelerator for toy vehicles,-   c. providing a game board comprising a first edge, a first line    marked on the game board parallel to the first line and spaced a    first distance apart from the first edge, a second line marked on    the game board spaced a second distance apart from the first edge    wherein the second distance is greater than the first distance, and    indicia for locating an outlet of the mechanical accelerator at an    entrance location along the first edge, and-   d. designating first and second teams of at least one player per    team, with the first team acting initially as a “defensive” team and    the second team acting initially as an “offensive” team,-   e. the “defensive” team selecting one toy vehicle from among the    plurality of toy vehicles and adding it to a first “defensive”    vehicle set,-   f. the “offensive” team selecting one toy vehicle from among the    plurality of toy vehicles and adding it to a second “offensive”    vehicle set,-   g. repeating steps [e] and [f] until no more than four toy vehicles    are allocated to the first vehicle set and no more than four toy    vehicles are allocated to the second vehicle set,-   h. then the “defensive” team positioning toy vehicles from said    “defensive” vehicle set onto the game board,-   i. the “offensive” team locating the outlet of the mechanical    accelerator at the entrance location of the game board,-   j. the “offensive” team introducing one “offensive” toy vehicle from    the among the “offensive” vehicle set into the mechanical    accelerator,-   k. allowing the “offensive” toy vehicle to come to rest to a stop    location,-   l. awarding one point to the “offensive” team for a condition    wherein the stop location of the “offensive” toy vehicle resides    between the first line of the game board and the second line of the    game board, but awarding two points to the “offensive” team for a    condition wherein the stop location of the “offensive” toy vehicle    resides at a third distance from the first edge greater than the    second distance,-   m. retrieving the “offensive” toy vehicle without displacing any    from among the “defensive” vehicle set, and allocating the    “offensive” toy vehicle to a “discard” vehicle set, and-   n. repeating steps [j] through [m] and accumulating points awarded    until all toy vehicles from the “offensive” vehicle are allocated to    the “discard” vehicle set.

Continuing with the game, now it is time for the players to switchroles. The toy vehicle collision game proceeds with further steps afterstep [n] of:

-   n1. designating the first team as the “offensive” team and    designating the second team as sad “defensive” team,-   n2. allocating toy vehicles of the “defensive” vehicle set to the    “offensive” vehicle set and reallocating the “discard” vehicle set    to the “defensive” vehicle set, and-   n3. repeating steps h through n.

An end to the game may be defined by players agreeing to a winning pointthreshold which ends play once one team or player accumulated thatnumber of points. The steps to add the threshold and to end play are asfollows: A step [d1] is added after [d] comprising setting of athreshold of accumulated points which defines a game finish, and anotherstep [n4] after is added after step [n3] comprising repeating the steps[h]-[n3] until at least one from among the first team and the secondteam accumulates points at least equaling the threshold.

In the event of a tie score, play may continue into a tie-breaking roundby adding a step after [n4] comprising repeating steps [h]-[n4] untilpoints accumulated by the first team are unequal to points accumulatedby the second team. With this unequal condition, a winner may bedetermined.

While certain features and aspects have been described with respect toexemplary embodiments, one skilled in the art will recognize thatnumerous modifications are possible. Also, while certain functionalityis ascribed to certain system components, unless the context dictatesotherwise, this functionality may be distributed among various othersystem components in accordance with the several embodiments.

Moreover, while the procedures of the methods and processes describedherein are described in a particular order for ease of description,unless the context dictates otherwise, various procedures may bereordered, added, and/or omitted in accordance with various embodiments.Furthermore, the procedures described with respect to one method orprocess may be incorporated within other described methods or processes;likewise, system components described according to a particularstructural configuration and/or with respect to one system may beorganized in alternative structural configurations and/or incorporatedwithin other described systems.

The present disclosure is not to be limited in terms of the particularembodiments described in this application, which are intended asillustrations of various aspects. Many modifications and variations canbe made without departing from its spirit and scope. Functionallyequivalent methods and apparatuses within the scope of the disclosure,in addition to those enumerated herein, are possible from the foregoingdescriptions. Such modifications and variations are intended to fallwithin the scope of the appended claims. The present disclosure is to belimited only by the terms of the appended claims, along with the fullscope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.

Hence, while various embodiments are described with or without certainfeatures for ease of description and to illustrate exemplary aspects ofthose embodiments, the various components and/or features describedherein with respect to a particular embodiment may be substituted,added, and/or subtracted from among other described embodiments, unlessthe context dictates otherwise. Thus, unauthorized instances ofapparatuses and methods claimed herein are to be considered infringing,no matter where in the world they are advertised, sold, offered forsale, used, possessed, or performed.

Consequently and in summary, although many exemplary embodiments aredescribed above, it will be appreciated that the invention is intendedto cover all modifications and equivalents within the scope of thefollowing claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A vehicle collision playset kit comprising: amechanical accelerator for toy vehicles, and a game board comprising afirst edge, a first line marked on said game board parallel to saidfirst edge and spaced a first distance apart from said first edge, and asecond line marked on said game board spaced a second distance apartfrom said first edge, wherein said second distance is greater than saidfirst distance, and indicia for locating an outlet of said mechanicalaccelerator at an entrance location along said first edge.
 2. Theplayset kit of claim 1, wherein said mechanical accelerator is afoldable ramp comprising a plurality of ramp segments which include atleast first and second rigid segments joined by a hinge, and wherein allof said ramp segments define a first surface which is a track floorbounded by two sidewalls and a second surface opposite from said firstsurface.
 3. The playset kit of claim 2, wherein at least one from amongsaid plurality of ramp segments of said foldable ramp is a hollow beam.4. The playset kit of claim 1, wherein said mechanical acceleratorcomprises a slingshot.
 5. The playset kit of claim 1, wherein saidmechanical accelerator comprises first and second counter-rotatingcylinders spaced apart to form a gap there between.
 6. A toy vehiclecollision game play method comprising the steps of a. providing aplurality of at least six toy vehicles, b. providing a mechanicalaccelerator for toy vehicles, c. providing a game board comprising afirst edge, a first line marked on said game board parallel to saidfirst edge and spaced a first distance apart from said first edge, asecond line marked on said game board spaced a second distance apartfrom said first edge wherein said second distance is greater than saidfirst distance, and indicia for locating an outlet of said mechanicalaccelerator at an entrance location along said first edge, and d.designating first and second teams of at least one player per team, withsaid first team acting initially as a “defensive” team and said secondteam acting initially as an “offensive” team, e. said “defensive” teamselecting one toy vehicle from among said plurality of toy vehicles andadding it to a first “defensive” vehicle set, f. said “offensive” teamselecting one toy vehicle from among said plurality of toy vehicles andadding it to a second “offensive” vehicle set, g. repeating steps [e]and [f] until no more than four toy vehicles are allocated to said firstvehicle set and no more than four toy vehicles are allocated to saidsecond vehicle set, h. said “defensive” team positioning toy vehiclesfrom said “defensive” vehicle set onto said game board, i. said“offensive” team locating said outlet of said mechanical accelerator atsaid entrance location of said game board, j. said “offensive” teamintroducing one “offensive” toy vehicle from said among said “offensive”vehicle set into said mechanical accelerator, k. allowing said“offensive” toy vehicle to come to rest to a stop location, l. awardingone point to said “offensive” team for a condition wherein said stoplocation of said “offensive” toy vehicle resides between said first lineof said game board and said second line of said game board, and awardingtwo points to said “offensive” team for a condition wherein said stoplocation of said “offensive” toy vehicle resides at a third distancefrom said first edge greater than said second distance, m. retrievingsaid “offensive” toy vehicle without displacing any from among said“defensive” vehicle set, and allocating said “offensive” toy vehicle toa “discard” vehicle set, and n. repeating steps [j] through [m] andaccumulating points awarded until all toy vehicles from said “offensive”vehicle are allocated to said “discard” vehicle set.
 7. The toy vehiclecollision game play method of claim 6, further comprising steps afterstep [n] of: n1. designating said first team as said “offensive” teamand designating said second team as sad “defensive” team, n2. allocatingtoy vehicles of said “defensive” vehicle set to said “offensive” vehicleset and reallocating said “discard” vehicle set to said “defensive”vehicle set, and n3. repeating steps [h] through [n.]
 8. The toy vehiclecollision game play method of claim 7, further comprising a step [d1]after step [d] of setting a threshold of accumulated points whichdefines a game finish, and a step [n4] after step [n3] of: repeating thesteps [h]-[n3] until at least one from among said first team and saidsecond team accumulates points at least equaling said threshold.
 9. Thetoy vehicle collision game play method of claim 8, further comprising astep after [n4] of: repeating steps [h]-[n4] until points accumulated bysaid first team are unequal to points accumulated by said second team.